snocone:Remember when it was the gangsters that said "This is not personal, it is just business." BANG BANG

Meet the New Gangsters.

I wouldnt call them gangsters

He made a decision void of emotion. It was pure logic. Why did he do it that way? Most likely it is because there is too much of a disconnect between the CEO and his employees. AOL is a big company so it is very hard to get on a first name basis with your employees.

If what happened to the baby happened to someone who was on the board, someone who the CEO interacted with, then he would have that emotional aspect to his decision, and that could have changed his mind.

"Two things that happened in 2012," Armstrong said. "We had two AOL-ers that had distressed babies that were born that we paid a million dollars each to make sure those babies were OK in general. And those are the things that add up into our benefits cost. So when we had the final decision about what benefits to cut because of the increased healthcare costs, we made the decision, and I made the decision, to basically change the 401(k) plan."

Let's hear it for the World's Greatest Nation, where your only purpose is to make profit for one company or another.

"Fark you if you get sick, and for Fark's sake don't you DARE have a baby prematurely. The cost of that would cut profits, if we didn't find the money by reducing the benefits package again. What do you think insurance is for - YOU?? You selfish asshole who cost the insurance company money? Just for that, we're taking out of everyone else's hide, too. And we're going to make sure they know who is responsible."

The more I watch the happenings in the US, the more I like Canada. Even if the shopping isn't as good.

God Is My Co-Pirate:"Two things that happened in 2012," Armstrong said. "We had two AOL-ers that had distressed babies that were born that we paid a million dollars each to make sure those babies were OK in general. And those are the things that add up into our benefits cost. So when we had the final decision about what benefits to cut because of the increased healthcare costs, we made the decision, and I made the decision, to basically change the 401(k) plan."

Christ, what an asshole.

Yeah, wow.

"Insurance did what it was supposed to, which became expensive, so we're dropping insurance. Since it did what it was supposed to."

God Is My Co-Pirate:"Two things that happened in 2012," Armstrong said. "We had two AOL-ers that had distressed babies that were born that we paid a million dollars each to make sure those babies were OK in general. And those are the things that add up into our benefits cost. So when we had the final decision about what benefits to cut because of the increased healthcare costs, we made the decision, and I made the decision, to basically change the 401(k) plan."

Christ, what an asshole.

Came here to say this.

If the insurance company jacked up the rates based on exposure, it's the insurance company's fault. Why isn't the CEO blasting them? Also, the benefits manager sucks for not being able to negotiate better rates.

Guess it's just easier to blame the blah guy and his socialist healthcare.

The CEO failed to mention that his personal compensation jumped from $3 million to $12 million during the time when Obamacare supposedly cost them $7 million and two babies $1 million each. fark that guy. Seriously. He's disgusting.

Let's set aside the fact that Armstrong-who took home $12 million in pay in 2012-felt the need to announce a cut in employee benefits on the very day that he touted the best quarterly earnings in years.

How dare you peons not understand the pain of only bringing home $12 million for your family! Why, if he hadn't cut all those benefits, he wouldn't be able to keep posting record profits for the company and then his family might suffer! You goddamn well don't need those benefits as much as the company needs those profits so you should be ashamed of yourselves! SHAME ON YOU!

Dear Tim Armstrong: even if you're self-insuring your employees health care costs, you write a stop-loss policy for the small number of employees with catastrophic health care costs. Usually it is because of cancer or auto accidents but your failure to do so is financial malfeasance.

Needlessly Complicated:God Is My Co-Pirate: "Two things that happened in 2012," Armstrong said. "We had two AOL-ers that had distressed babies that were born that we paid a million dollars each to make sure those babies were OK in general. And those are the things that add up into our benefits cost. So when we had the final decision about what benefits to cut because of the increased healthcare costs, we made the decision, and I made the decision, to basically change the 401(k) plan."

Christ, what an asshole.

Came here to say this.

If the insurance company jacked up the rates based on exposure, it's the insurance company's fault. Why isn't the CEO blasting them? Also, the benefits manager sucks for not being able to negotiate better rates.

Guess it's just easier to blame the blah guy and his socialist healthcare.

Fun fact: many companies actually pay the cost of your insurance claims out of their own pocket.

That insurance company you speak of? It processes claims but your employer may be the one footing the bill.

God Is My Co-Pirate:"Two things that happened in 2012," Armstrong said. "We had two AOL-ers that had distressed babies that were born that we paid a million dollars each to make sure those babies were OK in general. And those are the things that add up into our benefits cost. So when we had the final decision about what benefits to cut because of the increased healthcare costs, we made the decision, and I made the decision, to basically change the 401(k) plan."

Christ, what an asshole.

This. Armstrong made $12 million in 2012. He could've paid $2 million out of his own pocket and barely felt it. How would that payout hurt the company's bottom line?

Also, isn't the employee health insurance risk pool bigger than just AOL employees? Or does working for AOL suck that bad that their employees suffer a disproportionately higher rate of health problems?

Occam's Disposable Razor:Make no mistake, insurance of every kind exists to fark you. They don't turn a profit by paying out more than they take in.

You know what you call an insurance company that pays out more than it takes in?

Insolvent. Unable to pay claims.

Do you want to buy insurance, and then not have the company be able to make good on a claim?

The only type of insurance that doesn't face this risk is insurance from the government...and if you knew anything about the federal flood insurance program or the FHA, you'd know that they're both screwed up.

cman:snocone: Remember when it was the gangsters that said "This is not personal, it is just business." BANG BANG

Meet the New Gangsters.

I wouldnt call them gangsters

He made a decision void of emotion. It was pure logic. Why did he do it that way? Most likely it is because there is too much of a disconnect between the CEO and his employees. AOL is a big company so it is very hard to get on a first name basis with your employees.

If what happened to the baby happened to someone who was on the board, someone who the CEO interacted with, then he would have that emotional aspect to his decision, and that could have changed his mind.

Needlessly Complicated:God Is My Co-Pirate: "Two things that happened in 2012," Armstrong said. "We had two AOL-ers that had distressed babies that were born that we paid a million dollars each to make sure those babies were OK in general. And those are the things that add up into our benefits cost. So when we had the final decision about what benefits to cut because of the increased healthcare costs, we made the decision, and I made the decision, to basically change the 401(k) plan."

Christ, what an asshole.

Came here to say this.

If the insurance company jacked up the rates based on exposure, it's the insurance company's fault. Why isn't the CEO blasting them? Also, the benefits manager sucks for not being able to negotiate better rates.

Guess it's just easier to blame the blah guy and his socialist healthcare.

For the longest time, there was a very creepy unwillingness on the part of a lot of people to blame insurers for health care costs. Granted, conservatives rounded up the usual suspects - generally the victims - though they tried to mitigate this by pointing fingers, Sutherland-like, at trial lawyers. But the meme was somehow apolitical - no one really asked why insurers charged so much, no one really asked why they provided so little. It took a long, long time before people started looking at the wealthy middlemen and gong "Hey wait a minute."

Politicians, you can sort of understand - insurers were shoveling money into their pockets as fast as they could print it, and they're awesome at turning a blind eye. But the general public somehow never picked up on who was screwing them.

You think so? I think he might be untouchable because she went public and firing him would create an even bigger shiatstorm.

Not to mention the only way he might avoid a privacy lawsuit is because the husband stays employed.

Wait wait wait. I just realized something.

Okay, him blabbing about two "distressed babies" was certainly bad, but... how did HE farking know? How is the CEO privy to the medical treatments and outlays, protected under HIPAA, that any given employee gets?

gar1013:Fun fact: many companies actually pay the cost of your insurance claims out of their own pocket.

Companies can either take on the risk themselves or they can pay another company to take on the risk. That's what insurance is - risk management. They chose to take a risk by choosing to pay out on insurance hoping that the cost would be less than if they paid another company to take on the risk, saving them money. It sounds like that gamble didn't pay off. Sorry that their gamble didn't work out for them, but that's not a reason to cut back on benefits.

we were told at work that our health costs were going up, and coverage was going down (thanks obama care!) because my company is 95% women, and women go to the doctor too much. I work at a women's health facility. Kind of funny, isn't it?

gar1013:Occam's Disposable Razor: Make no mistake, insurance of every kind exists to fark you. They don't turn a profit by paying out more than they take in.

You know what you call an insurance company that pays out more than it takes in?

Insolvent. Unable to pay claims.

Do you want to buy insurance, and then not have the company be able to make good on a claim?

The only type of insurance that doesn't face this risk is insurance from the government...and if you knew anything about the federal flood insurance program or the FHA, you'd know that they're both screwed up.

Not saying I have a better system, just saying they'll do everything they can not to pay you - it's the necessity of the business. I work in healthcare, I've seen companies try to weasel out of paying for life saving cancer drugs. I'm not talking about stuff that grants an extra 6 months, I'm talking about stuff like Gleevec that can keep someone in remission and living a completely normal life potentially for decades. Patient has insurance, patient gets sicks, gets diagnosis, patient responds beautifully to treatment, insurance company tries to deny coverage. For literally the only disease the drug was developed and approved to treat. Absolute insanity.

Good to hear that this "distressed baby" made it and will likely grow up, gradually losing any signs she was born premature. At least, if my track record is anything to go on, she can. . I was born just a little under three pounds, blue as a smurf, with all sorts of complications that kept me in the neonatal ICU for a month and a half before my mother was allowed to touch me. Thirty years on, I'm a healthy six-foot-tall weighing 175 pounds. I maintain a physically active lifestyle and am on my way in the professional career of my choice.

They're primarily a media company, now. They own The Huffington Post, Moviefone, Engadget, Patch, Stylelist, TechCrunch, MapQuest and Cambio among others. As a small clue, the article mentions the author's husband is an editor with AOL.

Their current business model bears little resemblance to the business that made them a household name.

Mitch Taylor's Bro:God Is My Co-Pirate: "Two things that happened in 2012," Armstrong said. "We had two AOL-ers that had distressed babies that were born that we paid a million dollars each to make sure those babies were OK in general. And those are the things that add up into our benefits cost. So when we had the final decision about what benefits to cut because of the increased healthcare costs, we made the decision, and I made the decision, to basically change the 401(k) plan."

Christ, what an asshole.

This. Armstrong made $12 million in 2012. He could've paid $2 million out of his own pocket and barely felt it. How would that payout hurt the company's bottom line?

Also, isn't the employee health insurance risk pool bigger than just AOL employees? Or does working for AOL suck that bad that their employees suffer a disproportionately higher rate of health problems?

As gar1013 points out, many large companies actually self-insure, paying out of pocket for healthcare costs. When I worked for the state of Kansas, they did this as well. The insurance company is really only responsible for negotiating rates and administering payments, but the actual cost for payouts comes from the company. Or, as Wikipedia puts it:

"Employee benefits self-insurance programs are often underwritten by captive insurance companies formed, owned and managed by corporations in both on-shore and off-shore captive domiciles. The reason for this is that hundreds of thousands of employees constitute a large enough risk pool for the corporation to be able to predict and price the risk of losses from benefits offered to employees. In this way, corporations are able to manage their financial exposure to the self-insurance program without buying commercial insurance."

b3x:we were told at work that our health costs were going up, and coverage was going down (thanks obama care!) because my company is 95% women, and women go to the doctor too much. I work at a women's health facility. Kind of funny, isn't it?